So, wow, that was fast. The first half of the year comes to a close with this series, and the Sox are, as expected, neck in neck with the Yankees heading into the break. A lot of good, and bad, has come from this first half, which I'll go into in a post during the All-Star game, but for now, lets break down this current matchup, where hopefully, the Sox aren't already thinking about Tee times and bikinis.
Game 1: Andrew Miller[2-0, 3.06] v. Jake Arietta[9-5, 4.74]
Brad Picks: Sox Win
Randy Picks: Sox win
-The Good: Andrew Miller has made a statement to the Red Sox fans this year. He has figured out his issues with walking people, and has proven that he deserves a spot in this rotation. His 13K is 17ip is a good omen to his stuff, but he's pitching to contact a little more, and not trying to be so careful, which I'll assume is why he isn't walking as many. Also, the Sox are on a nice little roll of late since the STUPID interleague games are over.
-The Bad: None. The Red Sox should be beating up on Arietta, who was rocked against the Braves, and missed his last start with elbow inflamation. The Sox should take advantage of this, and I think they will. Look for AGon and Youk to continue to roll in this one. One thing I wanted to add to this post about Andrew Miller, and we saw last night with some struggles, is that he has gone up against the likes of the Pirates, Padres, Astros, and Orioles... not hard hitting lineups by any means. Something to keep an eye on is how he pitches agaisnt the Rays and Yankees comeing up -Randy
Game 2: Josh Beckett [7-3, 2.12] v. Zach Britton [6-6, 3.47]
Brad Picks: Sox Win
Randy Picks: Sox win
-The Good: Josh Beckett. Period. While some of the O's have some decent numbers against the big righty, his year this year (even with the flu shit) has been off the chart good thus far. I'm confident every time he takes the bump lately, and that isn't gonna change in this start.
-The Bad: Again, none. The only negative I see here is that, like always, the Sox offense doesn't show up for Josh Beckett on an all-too-often basis. They need to put some runs on the board for the All-Star.
Game 3: John Lackey [not worth citing] v. TBD
Brad Picks: Red Sox Win
Randy Picks: Sox Win
Lets be honest here, nothing good is coming out of John Lackey's starts this year, and since we don't know who the O's starter is, how can we predict how the game is gonna go. I'm calling a win just because I have faith in the offense.
Game 4: Alfredo Aceves [3-1, 3.74]* v. TBD
Brad Picks: Sox Win
Randy Picks: Sox win
See the above. It's hard to know what to expect when you don't know the starter, so I'll slip my blinders back on, and hope that the big bats continue to pound away at bad pitching, and we end this first half on a high note, and in first place as the Rays stomp the piss out of NY in their last series. I'd love to see NY heading into the break in third place.
Everyone have a nice little break from the old team, and we'll see you again mid-month.
Brad and Randy.
*Aceves pitched two easy innings last night in relief of Andrew Miller. This may just be some side work done in a game or we could be seeing the young Kyle Weiland from AAA. Stay tuned when we know you will know.
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